nothing's sweeter than summertime...

I have been SOO bad about not taking pictures lately. and not taking pictures means nothing to put on my blog! But it's not completely my fault, my camera has been MIA for a few weeks (months?) now and I can't find it anywhere. I wrangled up a few pictures from my IPhone to make a post of what we've been up to so far this summer... but once I find my camera I'm getting back on the picture taking and blogger band wagon!

Today, my mission is to look through closets, old purses, boxes, drawers, and even maybe my car to find my camera... really hoping I do! I must find it ASAP since we leave for Cali in THREE weeks!!! I will definitely be taking pictures along the way since we are driving the whole 27 hours from Dallas to Sac town :) We have been looking at plane tickets for awhile now and really could find any direct flights or even 1-stoppers for less than about $1200 for two tickets. We talked about it and decided that either Justin couldn't make the trip at all, or we would just rent a car and drive! Justin loved the driving idea and since he does have some hook ups in the rental industry it made the idea even better. We're splitting the trip into two days, 14 hours the first day (to Flagstaff, AZ) and then 10-12 hours the next way all the way home to Orangevale! I wasn't exactly thrilled about making the long journey to the West coast again but once I talked to my Dad and Mom about it and we decided to bring the dogs along too I got EXCITED!!! We leave August 1st and will arrive back in Dallas on the 10th!-- if all goes as planned :)

Here are the few pictures that I got off of my IPhone!




J and I @ the Taggart/ Colopy wedding (in May)




Golfing for the first time with my girl, Kasey! We HAD to wear the "asian" visors to try and imitate the vast majority of our guests! Everyone got a kick out of it.



Justin and I trying out a new local cajun seafood restaurant-- Nate's! It was delicious and J got his fix of crawfish before the season ended!


a few pictures from my birthday: justin decorated the house with pictures that he had gotten from my mom and sister, Nichole from when I was little and others from all of our little adventures in the past couple of years, streamers, and a few bouquets of flowers and it was so sweet to wake up to! Later in the day, we had a pool party with some friends and went out to a local bar to top off the night! GREAT birthday! I guess now that it's July I should probably take down the rest of the decorations I have been putting off :)










Check out my new BEAUTIFUL pots and pans by Paula Deen! LOVE them! Thanks, babe!


FAT BOOTH: the funniest app ever invented! If you have a IPhone it is absolutely worth the .99 cents!



Love, Kate

Happy Birthday, Momma!

Today is my Mom's birthday! She is such a special woman and I think I speak for my sisters and I both when I say that we are extra lucky to have a Mom like her! Can't wait to see my family in 11 weeks! Here is one of my favorite pictures of my Momma and I...




P.S. Once my Mom's birthday hits, I always begin the countdown to mine. 1 month exactly until my 23rd birthday!

Kate

it's a beautiful day in dallas

Snow is one of my very favorite things in this whole world. It is so beautiful and magical and makes everything feel fresh and new. I love how clean the air smells during and after snow falls and watching the little snow flakes fall from tke sky is so peaceful for me. I decided to give myself a "snow day" today. Some of the schools and businesses around here are closed (my school wasn't one of them) as we are expecting about 10 inches of snow today, but instead of running around like crazy, trying to be productive in the snow and ice and nervously driving around town I decided to just stay in my PJ's, take an online test for my Religion class that is due next week and just veg! Rocky and I have been out twice now since about 7:00 AM to play in the snow and take some pictures and just enjoy it-- it doesn't come very often in Dallas but when it does I am a VERY happy girl. It started snowing this morning around 4:00 AM and has not quit! The snow is coming down in bunches and I have all of the window shades up just enjoying it. Here are a few of the pictures I took this morning... all taken with my iPhone as it is the best camera I have right now :)

Enjoy!


Even the iPhone picture looks better with snow!






Rocky paws :)


Not my best picture, but hey it was only 7AM! (and yes, I was freezing!)


Where's Rocky [Waldo] ?



I'm off to bundle up and go take some more pictures-- the snow fall has probably doubled since these were taken!

Lately

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about eating healthier and working out. I have been to the gym 6 or 7 times in the last 2 weeks which must be a record for me! It feels good to be doing cardio and lifting some weights again. Along with that I have been reading a few books on healthier eating and cooking and alternative ways of cooking. After watching a show on Oprah (she's always getting my mind rolling...) about the new documentary Food Inc. in which they show how technological chicken, turkey and beef has become in our country. It's crazy how engineered these animals have become and it just didn't sit well in my stomach (ha). It also talked a lot about "real food" vs. "fake food"-- fake being lots of additives, dehydrated foods, etc. etc. So, I ordered some books online and I have been soaking up a lot of information about this topic... I talked with Justin and we have decided that all meat that we buy from now on will be Organic, and for beef this means grass fed cows not corn fed= healthier more natural cows = healthier meat that we'll be eating. I think for the most part the American public just doesn't have a clue where their food really comes from-- If we all made an effort to eat only Organic meats and veggies, it might become the "norm" and be less expensive as well as healthier for all. I have found some great recipes and can't wait to try them and blog about it! :) A lot of the information I have been reading has been Vegan type stuff- not that I'm going Vegan- but they do offer a lot of different ideas for soy products etc. which I am interested in too. Here is a link to the Oprah show I saw last week, if you want to check it out...

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/The-Truth-About-Food-with-Michael-Pollan

Here are a few of the books that I am reading or are waiting to come in the mail from Amazon :)






(Yes, this is Alicia Silverstone from Clueless! She looks good, huh?!)

brain dump

Here are other things I've been thinking about lately:

- I wish Texas had more of a Fall. It's been chilly and rainy here for the past two weeks-- Justin is sick of it but I just LOVE the change in the seasons and am always SO ready for rain at the end of summer. This weekend it is back to 80 degrees and sunny. Very good for golf carting... but I just wish it was cold already! Miss that Nor Cal weather...

- Speaking of Nor Cal, I really hope my sister, Jen makes it up to Apple Hill this year with her camera and posts on it! If anyone knows of a place in Texas like this I want to know about it! http://applehill.com/

- Who has plans for Halloween? I think this year is going to be pretty low key for us. We haven't heard of anything going on and I'm pretty sure I have to work that weekend. On that note, can someone PLEASE dress up as Jon Gosselin this year?? Ed Hardy sweatshirt, slicked back hair, diamond earrings. Funniest Halloween Costume of '09

- Is it me or is EVERYONE pregnant right now?! I now know of 7 people that are prego! Between March and June there are going to be some serious babies born! Saweeet!

- I am going to step out on a limb and say that I like tights. I have never worn them in my adult life (although when my Mom was still choosing my outfits she was obsessed-- see below) but I think I would like to venture there again... how do you wear tights? under a dress?


("tights" circa 1997)

- I got an 83% on my Psych test today!!!! I know that doesn't seem impressive enough to warrant all those exclamation points but 100 questions on Neuroscience and Biological Relationships isn't that fun.

- Was I not the cutest, fattest bunny you have ever seen?! This is probably my favorite picture of myself as a baby-- taken my first Halloween. I just love the pure joy on both of our faces.




- I'm obsessed with sour candy lately. Here are my top 3 favorites-- Sour Patch Kids and Watermelons, Starburst Sour GummiBursts and Watermelon Sour straws-- I feel like a 2nd grader buying them at 7-11, but I don't care, they're delicious!

- Rocky has been going to the dog park almost every other day! We found a really cute park about a mile from our house and there are always such cute, fun dogs for Rocky to play with! It's a great way for him to burn all that energy and he just loves to play with all the other dogs. The only downfall is he has to get a quick bath when we get home-- the mud is sick!

- Justin's birthday is in 13 days and I have no ideas...

Tomorrow J and I are headed to the Texas State Fair! I can't wait to see the baby pigs in the nursery and get a corndog (weird correlation there) and J is excited for the car show!-- such a boy. Pictures to follow soon!

-- kb

Oh supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...

MARY POPPINS the musical is coming to Dallas!!! I love love love musicals and am so excited to see this one! My Texas Mother and her family saw it on Broadway in New York City a few weeks ago and said that it was an amazing show! Tickets are fairly priced (and available at ticketmaster.com) and if you live in the Dallas area, you should totally check it out-- or better yet, come with me!